Cards with cool internships

Cards with cool internships Otterbein students took advantage of many different internship opportunities last summer, even traveling across the globe to do it. Read on to learn more about their experiences.

Morgan Williams stood with one hand raised to her brow, squinting as she watched a squadron of jets zoom over the Lincoln Memorial. It was July 4, 2019, and Williams, a senior business management and journalism double major, was just one of the many in attendance for the Independence Day celebration in Washington D.C. However, Williams wasn’t just there for the festivities. She was there as a member of the White House Internship Program (WHIP), an opportunity she’d been dreaming of ever since she was 12 years old. She arrived in the country’s capital in May and had two days to acclimate to the new city before starting her internship. She spent the time scoping out the subway system and adjusting to life on her own, never once feeling nervous. tunity to volunteer and attend different events held at the White House, including a meet-and-greet with U.S. President Donald Trump and Vice President Mike Pence, volunteering at the Congressional Picnic and getting to tour the White House Press Room. While these experiences were among the most memorable, Williams also points out that it was the people who really impacted her throughout her time with WHIP. “I think one of the biggest takeaways from the internship is that it’s just important to go talk to people,” says Williams goes to Washington Michaela Spangler ’21 Photos provided by Morgan Williams

It wasn’t long before she found herself in front of the Eisenhower Executive Building and touring through the White House’s East and West Wings with her fellow interns, standing where former presidents and first ladies had stood before her. She was almost immediately assigned to work in the Office of Presidential Correspondence, a position she grew to enjoy more throughout her months in the program. William’s division was tasked with handling specific mail for the office. “I’m so glad I got placed there because the people I worked with were phenomenal,” says Williams. “I’ve learned so much, and I wouldn’t have picked a different office now that I’ve been there.”

Williams. “You can learn something from everyone, and you should take advantage of that when you can because you never know when you’re going to meet that person that’s going to be so helpful to your career.”

Before she knew it, Williams was heading back home to Ohio to prepare for fall semester classes again. She’s now back at the Ohio Statehouse, working to make a difference on a local level. However, no matter which direction she goes, you can bet she’s going to keep her memories from this summer with her, fueling her passion along the way. ■

The sky above sophomore zoo and conservation science major Aiden Tansey was dark, but not just from the absence of the sun. Above him swirled the wings of 20 million Mexican free-tailed bats, gracefully flying upwards and out of Bracken Cave to hunt for their next meal. Tansey never would have gotten to witness this neat phenomenon if it wasn’t for his internship with the Collegiate Conservation Program through the Houston Zoo. Bracken Cave, a large nursing den that houses anywhere from 20-40 million Mexican free-tailed bats in San Antonio, Texas, was just one of the neat experiences Tansey got through his internship. He says sitting in the cave, mesmerized as he watched millions of bats vortexing to go feed for the night was “a really cool moment to connect with nature,” and may have just been his favorite moment from last summer. A close second was getting the opportunity to speak with two conservationists that visited from Madagascar and Brazil, an eye-opening experience that allowed Tansey to make international connections. The Houston Zoo reserves a spot in its program every year just for an Otterbein student. Tansey considers himself lucky to have secured the spot last summer, but he worried about how he would pay for it. After doing some research, he discovered that the internship is sponsored by ExxonMobil, who donates a $1,500 stipend to each intern. While the money is put toward funding the different activities the interns participate in, Tansey says that “the sponsorship definitely made the internship more affordable, even though the internship itself was unpaid.” Tansey has been volunteering in the Congo region of the Columbus Zoo and Aquarium since he was 14. For him, it’s always been about networking and meeting people, but he’s often felt like his connections brought him right back home. After interning in Houston, he now has relationships with people from Going batty for a summer internship Katie Frame ’22 Photos provided by Aiden Tansey

across the country and the world.

Perhaps the most valuable finding he took away from the experience was simply learning more about himself and what he enjoys doing.

“It made me realize that while I love animal care, I also like to talk to the guests at the zoo, which was a lot of what I did through this internship,” he explains.

At the Columbus Zoo, he spends a lot of time in the aviary, interacting with kids and talking to them about the different types of birds.

“[Kids] are like ‘Oh, did you know you have a lorikeet on you?’ And I’m like ‘I did! It’s undoing my shirt!’” Tansey laughs.

Despite wanting to be a paleontologist when he was young, he now has his eye on an upper-level management position at the zoo in the future. ■

After a knee injury ended her plan to play soccer in college, senior sports management major Regan Wilson never imagined she’d wind up interning with a National Hockey League team instead of tearing it up on the soccer field. Trading in the field for the rink Katie Frame ’22 Photos provided by Regan Wilson

Wilson got on the Blue Jackets’ radar her freshman year during a visit with Otterbein’s sports management club, where she chatted up Ben Harrison, who works in the team’s marketing department. From there, she used her networking skills and kept in contact with Harrison, who helped her make more contacts within the team’s staff.

She applied for an internship with the Blue Jackets for two years, interviewing both times but never getting the position. Finally, her third time applying, she was told the position was hers if she wanted it.

As the season and summer ticket sales intern, Wilson was the go-to person for anything having to do with season ticket holders.

After a brief stint there, she moved to working on the promotions team, where she represents the Blue Jackets at events in the community, even getting to work with the fans on occasion. Her job is to get the crowd excited, throw out T-shirts and cheer on the team.

“Basically, I’m a glorified cheerleader,” she jokes. “I love it.”

Last year was the first year that the Blue Jackets went on to the second round of the playoffs. Coincidentally, it was also during Wilson’s internship, making the moment one of her favorite memories with the team.

During the playoffs, employees are typically granted access to the top level of the arena, called Scott’s Turf Terrace. Last year, Wilson and her fellow interns were given access to the terrace, as well as tickets to each of the playoff games. When the Blue Jackets won their first round of the playoffs, Wilson was there to experience the moment firsthand.

“People were laughing and crying, and just like seeing all of that ... it was kind of cool to see,” Wilson says, fondly remembering the hugs and high-fives she got from all the employees.

Though her time as an intern with the Blue Jackets is coming to an end, Wilson now has her sights set on landing a full-time job with the team. She hopes her love for the organization and the countless meaningful connections she’s made throughout her internship are what it takes to set her on the right path to accomplishing her dream. ■

Gwen Broderick, a junior biology and zoo and conservation science major, stepped out of her comfort zone and spent six weeks in Gamboa, Panama, this summer, conducting research on red-eyed tree frogs with Emma Kimberly, a fellow zoo and conservation science student, through the Otterbein University biology department. The goal of their research was to try and better understand what will happen to the frog populations as pollution increases. Broderick’s day would typically start early every morning, waking up to eat breakfast and immediately heading to the schoolhouse to meet Sarah Bouchard, a faculty member in Otterbein’s biology and earth science department, who led the research trip. For the next few hours, Broderick was primarily responsible for setting up experimental tanks with the appropriate number of tadpoles and predators. Day after day, she’d examine the effects of predation and pollution on the different categories of tadpoles. Going to Gamboa Brynna Guthrie ’21 “As the ponds decrease and pollution and deforestation increase, the frogs are limited where they can lay their eggs. So once all the eggs hatch, the number of tadpoles has increased greatly, while the resources have not,” says Broderick. Her day usually ended around 2 p.m., when she would head back to the schoolhouse to drop off her work boots, grab a bite to eat and shower. During her free time, she passed the hours going to local sporting events, walking along the water and joining in on “frog talks,” where Broderick and other research students practiced presenting their work on various species of frogs. She also spent a lot of time sitting outside and watching wildlife. “There was so much amazing wildlife literally a foot away,” says Broderick. “We caught so many different lizards and frogs, saw so many cool looking bugs and heard so many parrots.” Broderick notes that spending so much time on the opposite side of the hemisphere did have its challenges, especially being so far away from loved ones. Photos provided by Gwen Broderick

“My favorite memory is when Emma’s parents came to visit,” says Broderick. “They took us to the City of Knowledge, which is this super cute shopping area about 40 minutes away from Gamboa. It really helped me get through the whole two months without my family.”

By the time her six weeks was up, she’d dissected over 50 tadpoles and released the rest, spending a large chunk of her time analyzing and compiling the results. She also walked away with over 200 mosquito bites on her legs and a newfound distaste for the chronic heat and humidity in Panama.